


The Most Constant Harmony

by Estel



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Names, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-23 03:46:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18146552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estel/pseuds/Estel
Summary: Five reflects back on when numbers suddenly became names.





	The Most Constant Harmony

Allison was the first. Or perhaps it was Diego. At some point around their sixth or seventh birthdays, names started to appear.

Up until this point, numbers were a simple system of reference. There was never any need for confusing multi-syllabic names, except for, of course, Number Seven. As far as Five was concerned, the concurrent double-syllabled words (nuhm-ber sev- _uh_ n) always seemed fitting for her and gave her an earned uniqueness amongst them.

At some point unknown, Mother had begun giving them names. It was something very personal and was based on some element of personal style and the meaning of the name. Or perhaps it was names their birth mothers had intended for them. At any rate, it seemed frivolous.

Of course, he was alone in his opinion of this.

Since he could remember, One and Two had been at odds about their “rank”. Father would always ask for Number One to represent them and chose him frequently to create tactical plans. Number Two, who had always been full of alternate ideas on how to execute any given plan, took exception to this on a regular basis and had been chastised repeatedly for talking out of turn in meetings. Finding names outside of Number One and Number Two may have been an attempt at making peace between them.

Three had wanted a “real” name ever since the “Sweet Caroline” incident when they were quite young. Of all of them, she was the one most prone to fits of wanting to be ‘normal’ as she thumbed through magazines of pretty girls with their faces made up beyond reason.

Four, for all of his goofy nature, didn’t seem like a “real” name would mean much to him, but as soon as someone had it, he needed it. Thus, Number Six was not far behind. Their bond was inseparable and the transition to “Klaus and Ben” was extremely fast.

Like all things to do with her, Seven’s name appeared out of nowhere one day. The two of them were sitting on a bench waiting for some exercise or a meal and she simply smiled and quietly said: “I have a name now.” There was a glimmer of joy in her eyes when she said it. “Vanya.”

With the knowledge that she was no longer that beautifully congruent nuhm-ber sev- _uh_ n, he smiled a sad smile and echoed it back to her. “Vanya. I like it.” That was it, he was now the last.

Number Five. It felt like a well-fit jacket on him. Five was the perfect number, in his mind. It was a prime number, a favorite among nature’s world of Fibonacci, and musically the most constant harmony. No “real” name would be able to define him better than a number that was as diverse and integral to the universe as Five.


End file.
